PESHAWAR: Following a high-powered Pakistani delegation’s visit to Kabul last week, Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to set up a technical committee to sort out their differences, said senior Pakistani diplomats in Kabul on Monday.
“Last week, Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, Director General (DG) Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood, went to Kabul to hold a meeting with the head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan’s top intelligence agency, and decided to form a committee to resolve outstanding issues,” a senior official at Pakistan’s embassy in Kabul, who declined to be named, told Arab News.
In a follow-up meeting on Sunday, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Zahidullah Nasrullah Khan and Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Idrees Zaman held discussions to move forward and settle bilateral issues, he added.
According to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting between Khan and Zaman focused on some important bilateral arrangements as well as upcoming events.
“The two sides covered a host of issues related to bilateral ties,” the ministry’s statement added.
It stated that the discussions also included the upcoming Beijing Dialogue and the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) meeting due to be held in Kabul in the coming weeks.
APAPPS framework provides an inclusive mechanism to enhance engagement between the institutions of the two countries.
“During the course of meeting between the two intelligence chiefs, they discussed a range of issues, such as the summoning of the Afghan Ambassador, Atif Mashal, by intelligence officials in Islamabad, harassment of Pakistani diplomats in Kabul, construction of Pakistan Army check post on the Pak-Afghan border, dispute over the Afghan Market in Peshawar and firing incidents on civilian population in Chitral district by the Afghan security forces,” the Pakistani official added.
The technical committee, he continued, would evaluate the reasons behind the growing diplomatic tensions between the two estranged neighbors.
Pakistan, Afghanistan mull joint committee to reduce tensions
Pakistan, Afghanistan mull joint committee to reduce tensions
- The committee will identify issues resulting in growing diplomatic tensions between the two countries
- Last week, Pakistan’s DG ISI held a candid meeting with the NDS chief in Kabul
Pakistan’s seafood exports to China rise 24% to $240 million in 2025
- The Chinese embassy cites strong growth in agricultural trade with Pakistan
- Islamabad aims to expand food exports amid effort to boost foreign reserves
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s seafood exports to China rose 24% year-on-year to $240 million in the first 11 months of 2025, the Chinese embassy in Islamabad said on Wednesday, highlighting growing agricultural trade between the two countries.
China is one of Pakistan’s largest seafood export markets, alongside destinations such as Thailand, Vietnam and countries in the Middle East. Pakistan exports fish, shrimp and other marine products sourced from coastal areas in Balochistan and Sindh, including Gwadar, Pasni and Karachi, with shipments typically consisting of frozen fish, frozen shrimp and a smaller volume of processed seafood.
The figure cited by the Chinese embassy fits into a longer upward trend, supported by rising Chinese demand, improvements in cold-chain logistics and market access approvals for Pakistani exporters.
“Pakistan’s seafood exports to China hit [nearly] $240 million from Jan-Nov 2025, soaring by 24% compared with the same period in 2024, which fully shows the strong vitality of the agricultural trade between China & Pakistan,” the embassy said. “[China looks] forward to more export of high-quality Pakistani products to China in the future.”
China is Pakistan’s closest regional ally and a key destination for its agricultural and food exports, which Islamabad has been seeking to expand to bolster foreign exchange earnings.
The two countries enjoy strong strategic and economic cooperation, with Chinese support seen as vital to Pakistan’s efforts to diversify its export base beyond textiles and reduce reliance on external financing.
Beijing and Islamabad are also working closely on energy and infrastructure projects as part of broader efforts to enhance regional connectivity and support industrial development in Pakistan.
